Montreal Canadiens To Trade Max Pacioretty “As Soon As Possible”

There has been speculation around Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty for months, with a trade out of town being the most likely final scenario for the scoring winger. Recently though there had been some who wondered if the Canadiens would re-open talks for an extension, something that now appears completely off the table. Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic (subscription required) has been told that the Canadiens will not negotiate a new contract with Pacioretty, and in fact intend to work out a trade “as soon as possible.” GM Marc Bergevin has in fact communicated that to his captain, though Pacioretty does not have any trade protection in his current contract.

That contract expires at the end of next season, and has vastly underpaid Pacioretty over its duration. Carrying a $4.5MM cap hit this year, the 29-year old forward would be welcome on almost any team in the league. Still, the Canadiens know that their best chance at a big return is if Pacioretty works out an extension right away with the acquiring team. That reportedly almost happened at the June draft, but a contract couldn’t be worked out with the Los Angeles Kings and instead Pacioretty changed agencies and signed with Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey.

Walsh is the one who now will negotiate any extension, and one would have to believe that several teams who missed out on some of the bigger free agents will be inquiring on the five-time 30-goal scorer. San Jose, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Boston were all given the opportunity to sit down with John Tavares, and though Pacioretty is obviously a different talent there would likely be some crossover. It’s not just those squads that could use some added scoring punch though, something that the Montreal captain can still provide even despite his down season in 2017-18.

Pacioretty scored just 17 goals in 64 contests last season, but can be expected to improve on that number going forward. While a long-term deal may not turn out to be an exceptional value, it’s definitely a worthwhile risk for a player with his track record. The question now becomes what Montreal is looking for in return, and how an extension would change that ask. The Canadiens are still trying to compete right away as Carey Price enters his eight-year $84MM contract, but will have to seriously consider a package of young or future assets in exchange for their captain.

He’s not a rental. Teams have a year to negotiate an extension. Rentals are players acquired at the deadline. As far as injuries are concerned he’s only missed a combined 34 games since 2011. That’s really good. He’s extremely durable so I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about.

Pacioretty to the Rangers for Kevin Hayes. Both have 1 year left on contracts, Montreal can certainly use a center and the Rangers need a scoring wing. Plus Pacioretty comes home (he’s from Connecticut.

…have to imagine that Montreal will want players for the future, so draft picks and prospects, rather than someone for next season. The Habs are going nowhere next season and need to do a rebuild, so why bring in a player who has once year left when that’s why they’re trading Pacioretti in the first place.

As much as Montreal would like to do a rebuild, they are between a rock and a hard place with Carey Price. With an 8 year extension kicking in, Price needs to be dealt if they are indeed going with a rebuild. And if that is the case, good luck trying to find a buyer for that 8 year $10.5 million dollar contract. He may be a great goalie again on a good team, but that team is probably not Montreal. So if you are going to commit to a full rebuild and trade Price and Paccioretty, then yes I agree with you, trade Paccioretty for draft picks and prospects. But by Bergevin not acting before this year’s draft, he delayed the process by a year.

Montreal has arguably the worst depth at center in the league. Hayes would immediately become Montreal’s #1 center (ahead of Drouin who is really a wing). Hayes had more points than Paccioretty last year (44 for Hayes and 37 for Paccioretty). Plus Hayes is 3 years younger. On the Rangers side they deal from a center position that they have depth in and acquire a wing where they have a need.